Getting your marketing data in order is not unlike Movember facial hair grooming. We figured the same principles can be applied to data and to our nose neighbours – and here’s why:
Believe it or not, Movember is a lot like good data.
You’ve bought your first marketing data set and you’re firing messages off in all directions. Like a beard that hasn’t been tamed, the results can be messy, confusing and annoying to the people you’re trying to talk to.
“Six out of 10 (58%) marketers said that they did not use their ESP for anything more than the basic broadcast of email.” – Email Marketing Industry Census 2013.
So you trim the data set down. Initial segmentation efforts get rid of the obvious mismatched industries. This small amount of tuning is starting to yield results – you’re baring your chin, but the data is still big and unwieldy.
“50% of marketers state that the quality of their email database is a major barrier to effective email marketing.” – Email Marketing Industry Census 2013.
Cleaning your data set of old, incomplete or incorrect records is really starting to streamline operations. Less resource wastage means we can see your ears now.
“It’s the old saying of rubbish in, rubbish out. Not to mention the fact that sending two separate catalogues to Andy Smith and Andrew Smith just makes you look incompetent.” – Andreas Bitterer, Vice-President of research with Meta Group.
Like riding a bike, you’re still going to make a few mistakes, but messages are now reaching more of your target audience. Your target industries are in place and your contact data is correct – you’re taking segmentation further than you thought possible. You’re looking like a dapper gentleman and your messages are less likely to offend or annoy recipients too.
“Only 22% of marketers say that they are carrying out advanced segmentation.” – Email Marketing Industry Census 2013.
Now you shift your focus to personas, using the information in your marketing database to target messages based on industry, persona and pain points. Then you add personalisation. Now you’re sending messages that speak directly to clients and their needs. You’re becoming a true marketing data artist – just like Dali.
“Just 26% of marketers do any content personalisation.” – Email Marketing Industry Census 2013.
“Pain is a reminder that unless your prospect has a need to solve a problem, they are not going to buy a product.” – Mark Suster –How to Identify Client Pain Points.
“Personalised emails improve click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%.” –Aberdeen Research.
Finally you add real-time personalisation into the mix. Like a laser cut pencil moustache, your messages deliver the right content to the right person – at the right time. And your customers love it! Just watch those leads convert themselves. In real time.
“What we’re after is taking advantage of something that people are already talking about and participating in that conversation. If that’s created in real time, fantastic.” – Marshall Manson, Social@Ogilvy at Ogilvy & Mather.
So there you have it. Marketing data needs to be carefully pruned like the finest of moustaches:
· Weed out any irrelevant data early on.
· Segment, segment, segment to fine tune your messaging.
· Identify personas and pain points that can be targeted with relevant messaging.
· Add in personalisation to reach customers with pinpoint accuracy.
· Implement real time tools to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
Find out how to boost your marketing data ROI by getting your data into shape with this eGuide – Modern marketing essentials guide: data management
